Sublime Porte

The Sublime Porte was the synechdochic metonym referring to the central government of the Ottoman Empire, taking its name from the gate of Topkapi Palace in Istanbul; the Sultan traditionally announced his official decisions and judgements at the gate. Western diplomats were received at the gate, and the Sublime Porte came to refer to the foreign ministry after the reforms of 1908. In 1913, the Committee of Union and Progress staged the Raid on the Sublime Porte to seize control of the Ottoman government, and they would form an alliance with the German Empire and the Central Powers.